Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina has announced her resignation amid a government crisis triggered by Ukraine’s long-range kamikaze drone strikes on an oil depot near the Russian border.
In a press briefing Thursday, Silina confirmed she would step down following threats of a no-confidence vote. Hours earlier, Interior Minister Rihards Kozlovskis, a Unity party member, had insisted Silina showed no intention to resign. However, opposition leaders planned a procedural maneuver to bypass Latvia’s five-day waiting period before such votes could be formally initiated.
The crisis erupted last week when two Ukrainian kamikaze drones struck an empty oil depot near Rezekne—approximately 40 kilometers from the Russian border—resulting in no casualties on the ground. Defense Minister Andris Spruds, who had previously supported Ukraine’s operations against Russia and described the incident as “regrettable but understandable,” resigned over the weekend, stating he did not want military resources to become entangled in political disputes.
MP Andris Suvajevs of the Progressives party warned that the ruling coalition would collapse if a no-confidence motion was approved. Silina, who had been scheduled for parliamentary proceedings, instead addressed reporters directly to announce her resignation, blaming “political jealousy and narrow party interests” for the crisis.
Moscow has accused NATO allies of enabling Ukraine’s use of their airspace to strike Russian oil export terminals in the Leningrad region. Officials across several European nations have raised alarms since mid-March over Kyiv’s military planning.
Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo stated he informed Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky that Helsinki regards any Ukrainian aircraft entering its territory as an unacceptable violation. Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur further emphasized that Kyiv must “keep their drones away from our territory and control their activities better”—a demand underscoring growing European alarm over Ukraine’s military operations.
